Former Knicks’ coach Mike D’Antoni took over the team on Nov. 16 after Mike Brown was fired, and D’Antoni’s up-tempo style of play isn’t exactly in step with Gasol and his achy knees.

“He’s going to have to play,” D’Antoni said. “We just have to be a more dynamic team. We’re slow right now. It’s just athletically, we’re struggling.”

Gasol, who won back-to-back championships with Bryant and the Lakers in 2009 and 2010, was often mentioned in trade rumors this offseason. Bryant continually defended Gasol, and the Lakers ended up getting superstar center Dwight Howard and veteran point guard Steve Nash, anyway.

“I don’t get irritated,” is how Gasol reacted to the benching. “I like to be out there. It’s upsetting for me as a player but I won’t allow it to irritate me.”

The Lakers are behind both the Warriors and Clippers in the Pacific division, and the 34-year-old Bryant is not about to let a single season slip away from him.

“There’s no excuses to be made, there’s no whining,” Bryant said. “No putting your head down. We’re here, we have the talent to make adjustments, we have to make them. Period.

“I’ll kick everybody’s ass in this locker room if that doesn’t happen,” Bryant continued. “That’s the attitude that you have to have.”